9.20.2009

What I do now

So, I wasn’t kidding about the black hole. But I’m sorry to have been gone from here for so long. I’ve missed you.

Delancey is getting easier. As of two weeks ago, we now have a prep cook to work in the mornings, which means that instead of going in at 9 am to receive the first deliveries, Brandon can now go in around 11 am, and I go in sometime between noon and 2 pm, depending on the day’s prep list. We still get home around midnight, but it feels a lot easier than it did a couple of weeks ago. We’re getting more sleep, for one thing, but even more importantly, we know what to expect now. That’s the key, I think. In the beginning, I would be mopping the floor at the end of the night, thinking I CAN’T BELIEVE I HAVE TO MOP THIS STUPID STUPID STUPID FLOOR AT ONE IN THE MORNING WHY DOES PIZZA HAVE TO BE SO MESSY AND STUPID THIS RESTAURANT IS SO MESSY AND STUPID WHERE IS THE NEAREST SHARP OBJECT SO I CAN STAB MYSELF AND GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM AND MAYBE THERE I CAN ACTUALLY GET SOME SLEEP, but now I just think, Ah yes, here I am again, mopping the floor late at night. This is what I do now.

Over the past couple of months, a number of people have told me that opening a restaurant seems a lot like having a baby, and while I can’t say for sure, since we are not at all in the baby-having business, I think I know what they mean. You can prepare for a baby, or a restaurant, in many ways, but when it actually comes, it changes everything. The shape of your life is completely different. You are exhausted. This baby, or this restaurant, or whatever it is, is wholly dependent on you. It does not stop. And while you eventually adjust, and it adjusts to you, nothing ever quite goes back to the way it used to be. I am just figuring this out.

But it’s not a bad thing. It’s actually a good thing. I love this restaurant. I love our staff. I love our customers. I’m learning so much. Brandon is learning so much. We’re learning so much. And it really does get easier. I’ve done payroll three times now, and only the first time did I come close to screaming. I actually kind of enjoy it now. I do it twice a month, in the mornings, and I use my TI-85 calculator, the one I got for trigonometry class in high school. We’ve been together for almost 15 years. We’re tight.

And we’re starting to be able to play with the menu a bit, which feels good. We’re now making our own pork sausage, and we’re doing a lot of pickling: peppers, shallots, cucumbers, Walla Walla onions, you name it. This morning, as I type this, Brandon is working on an eggplant sauce for pizza, based on a killer pasta sauce that my friend Francis made up. If it works out, it’ll be on the menu tonight. And last week, we started serving burrata. You probably can’t tell, but that last sentence was a very, very exciting sentence to write. I am nuts for burrata. We buy ours from Gioia, a cheesemaker in LA, and it gets overnighted to us twice a week. We serve it as a first course, with a dousing of olive oil, some sea salt, and a few toasts. I am deeply in love with it. But every time I plate one, I die a little, because at the end of the week, it means one less leftover burrata for me.

We’re also changing up the dessert menu, now that fall is coming on. The chocolate chip cookies are still there, and possibly will be forever, but the chilled peaches in wine are gone, as are the popsicles. Instead, there’s plum crumble. That’s what all of these pictures are of, in case you were wondering. I know it took me a while to get around to explaining that.

I learned about this crumble recipe about two years ago, from Luisa. I made it a couple of times that summer, and it went instantly into my keeper file. It’s pretty straightforward, as most specimens of the crumble genre are, but unlike some, it’s not gloppy, gluey, or the least bit too sweet. It calls for my favorite kind of plum - Italian prune plums, the deep purple, oblong ones that come out in late summer - and it doesn’t mess with them much. Before going into the pan, they get a very small amount of brown sugar, even smaller amounts of ground ginger and cinnamon, just enough flour to give their juices some body, and a gentle kick in the seat from some crystallized ginger. The topping comes together a little like streusel, as Luisa so rightly described it, in hand-formed clumps and particles, which you pile on top of the plums. Then you spoon melted butter - what seems like a lot of melted butter, but be strong, be strong - over the whole thing. Once in the oven, the topping goes pale brown and pleasingly lumpy, crisp in some parts, chewy in others, soft where it meets the jammy fruit underneath: a perfect compromise, I would say, between crumble, spice cake, and cookie. I serve it with housemade crème fraîche, but it hardly needs the help.

Most nights, I make two 9”-by-13” pans of this stuff, and most nights, I want to hoard about half of it for myself. If it weren’t for the servers, who stop by every few minutes with new orders and expect to find me working, I would probably get a spoon and hide in the corner by the chest freezer. Then I’d start in on the burrata.

The original version of this recipe is hard to improve upon, but I have made a couple of small changes. When I measure the sugar for the topping, I keep it on the scant side, because I like my plums solidly sweet-tart. I also reduced the butter a bit, because it seemed to want to pool in a kind of scary way at the bottom of the pan. Cutting it back even a little seems to help a lot.

At Delancey, I make this crumble in bigger batches, and it scales up beautifully. If you need to feed a crowd, try tripling the recipe as I’ve written it below, and bake it in a 9”-by-13” dish, as pictured above. Works like a charm.

Position a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the seasoning for the plums: the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, and crystallized ginger. Add the plums, and gently stir to coat. Arrange the plums skin side up in an ungreased deep 9-inch pie plate.

In another medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the topping: the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to blend well. Add the egg. Using your hands, mix thoroughly, squeezing and tossing and pinching handfuls of the mixture, to produce moist little particles. Sprinkle evenly over the plums.

Spoon the butter evenly over the topping, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is browned and the plums yield easily when pricked with toothpick. Cool.

213 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Molly, I miss you! But I'm so happy to hear that Delancey is doing so well. If I didn't live so far away, I would definitely be a patron (Northern Canada). I wish you all the best, my friend. And any time you can write, please do, and know we'll be waiting here and rooting you on...

I went to Delancey 2 nights ago and was not surprised to see it jam packed with people. We patiently waited 1.5 hours for a table---and it was well worth it! Everything was fantastic, best pizza on the West coast I have ever had. I got the Brooklyn, and my boyfriend got the mushroom one. Both were perfect. Great wine list too. It didn't seem at all chaotic, almost seemed like you have been open for years. I can't imagine how much work it is to open a place like that...bravo.

Ok Juan and I are sitting on the sofa and your "mop rant" made us both laugh out loud! Not to take humor in your misery but your explanation of it was very vivid and although we've never spent the late night mopping floors we can feel your pain through your words.

Glad to hear it's getting better and of course we can't wait to actually come in EAT the pizzas and crumbles and such (the burrata is actually made about 5 miles from my parents house and they sell it at Bristol Farms here hooray!).

so happy to hear that everything at the restaurant is becoming more comfortable. prep cooks are awesome and make life so, so much nicer. the plum crumble looks delicious. tart and sweet and buttery. yum! absolutely love the blog and look forward to your next post.

Thank you so much for sharing your recipies with those of us who live far away from your little restaurant.

Growing up, my grandparents had a prune plum orchard with Italians, Parsons, and Brooks trees. We mostly ate them fresh (just a few at a time!), but I've seen the fruit pop up lately at the farmer's market, and I've been wondering if there are recipies for them. Given my experience, I'm thinking I can take your word for this one and I don't have to go experimenting!

And hilariously, I read that second paragraph and was thinking, wow, that sounds a whole lot like the first two harrowing weeks of motherhood while reading it, and then I read the next paragraph, right on!

For your dessert menu you guys should try out dessert pizza. I work for a personal chef and she has a pizza oven in her backyard. I went over there the other day, and she made me a S'more pizza which just had pieces of chocolate and marshmallows on it. She also made a sea salt, chocolate, and olive oil pizza that was to die for! Might be fun to experiment. If I ever make it up there I will definitely be dining at the restaurant. Glad to hear it's going well.

so happy to see your post...happy for you & brandon...while on vacay in avignon france i met a young couple with their child when i offered to take their photo...they are from seattle & i immediately asked if they had eaten at delancey...since they had not heard about delancey i whipped out my pen & paper wrote down orangette & delancey & went on about how fab you , orangette & delancey are!!...they promised a visit when back in seattle...i hope they did.

I'm so glad everything is going better for you both. It is funny that you posted today because I just posted about you in my blog. I was talking about Kale!! I read your article in Bon Appetit as I usually do and just had to try it. When I first saw your article I thought Oh Yuck!! But as usual you talked me into it. It is now one of my favs.

It was great to hear about your restaurant adventure. I laughed out loud at the TI-85 comment. I do payroll for my organization too and wouldn't do it without my trusty TI-85 . . . despite its slightly broken screen. What a treat it is to have a blog entry from you to read!

Molly, you are SO adorable! I was laughing out loud when I read your mop story, but happy that you love the restaurant and happy that things are more manageable now. Love the crumble recipe too -- I'd never thought of putting crystallized ginger in it. Crumbles are one of my favorite desserts and I use a recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything cookbook and use apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries all together which is wonderful, but must try your recipe -- it sounds yummy. And the burrata -- I HAVE to try that.

Congratulations, Molly and Brandon! I've ready some really good reviews of your place, and if I were closer (I'm in Boston), I would probably be a regular, what with pizza being my favorite food! (And let's not mention the burrata - YUM).

I share your love for prune plums and this recipe looks wonderful. I got some in my fruit share at my CSA last week and they didn't last long...at least not long enough to do anything with them other than eat them straight out of the basket.

I wish you both continued success! I know you're busy but I, and I'm sure others, will be here waiting for your posts.

Wow - it sounds like your life is so busy but so exciting and challenging and wonderful - well done! And thanks for that delicious description of your plum crumble, you had me dribbling... I'm definitely going to try it! Take care :)

Poor restaurant business - it doesn't really deserve all the blame - it's all businesses. I am in the photo business and have been in the decorating business, and it is the same. The business becomes your life, your baby and you both love & hate it. And it does get easier, or maybe you just get too tired to let stuff upset you. :)

My sister-in-law and I share what we call a "fake fantasy" about opening a restaurant. That means that we like to fantasize about opening a restaurant, but we wouldn't actually want to do all the hard work involved. Thanks for letting me experience it vicariously instead.

Great menu...great blog! As another restaurant owner, might I recommend paycycle.com when you fall out of love with doing payroll (don't worry..it's coming). Paycycle (or any of the other online services) is cheap and VERY user friendly.

Is it possible to describe my excitement when I saw that you were back to posting? No; I don't think it is. If it were, though, I might compare it to how I felt when I went to Delancey and had my first bite of sweet tomato with olive oil. Or my anticipation when our lovely server set down The Brooklyn smack dab in front of me. Or maybe even the way I grinned after my first taste of a blackberry yogurt popsicle.Thanks for doing what you do so beautifully. Good to see you back.

oh my gosh, that was exactly what I was thinking, a baby, that is. Having two myself, one who is 3 now and makes me what to do that very same thing with a knife, I know JUST how you feel, except I don't, SO I hope we get to come to your restaurant soon, we do live in Seattle after all! ;) maybe you can meet my babies and we could trade? ;)

Had the pleasure of entering the black hole this evening. My husband and I both agreed, it is the BEST pizza in the city. Their delicate use of toppings makes each bite unique and allows all of the flavors and ingredients a chance to shine. The crust is perfection - light and chewy, but it holds up to the sauce and toppings nicely. We were so happy with our meal, we ordered an extra pie to go, but ended up eating half of it on the block-long walk back to the car. A definite new FAVORITE. (They were working on the eggplant as we were leaving...)

Molly, I can tell you haven't lost your sense of humor no matter how exhausted you feel. That's good! And yes, just like with a baby, (and kids later on) you can't imagine your life without them/the restaurant and you love it so althought it/they demand so much of your time and energy, and at the same time, it/they give you so much in return.But, unlike kids, a restaurant doesn't hold your career back :)Sorry to use this analogy again. But it just seems so much like family indeed when you own and run your own business and you put your heart and soul into it.Hope to visit Delancey again soon. Nurit

Molly, you crack me up, and I am so grateful that you posted the plum crumble recipe! That is some seriously wonderful stuff, as is everything else we tried. I can't wait to come back, I miss Delancey already! Take care.

Hurray Molly! Glad you are back. I just finished reading your kale article in Bon Appetit, and what a special treat to get an update on Delancy! Best of luck. I hope to visit one day. Kate from Anchorage.

Hi Molly--came up from San Francisco a few nights ago to visit my sister AND come to Delancey. She couldn't believe I brought her to a pizza place and was making her wait 1.5 hrs: "this place doesn't even have a sign on the outside?!" Doubtful, she trusted me. We both left with fully bellies and smiles. Delicious pedron peppers, awesome sausage pizza, beautiful space, great cookies. Congratulations.

Molly, I love the look of this crumble so much, especially since this summer I've taken to plums. A lot. Also, I'm excited because I'll be in Seattle in October which means a Delancey visit! I can't wait.

Hi Molly, I'm new to your blog (somehow, I'm sure I've visited over the last few years, but I'm a subscriber now) and I just wanted to leave you a message saying how much I associated with your CAPS message about the floor. You see, I'm working in a country bakery at the moment, where we bake bread and lots of cakes and slices and sweet things, and serve hot food during the day as well. It's not my bakery (and I'm glad it's not) but I close 5 days out of 7 there at the moment, and my goodness, so I associate with The Floor of Doom. We just expanded, so there's 3x the amount of floor that there used to be, and it takes well over an hour to do it all. Not only that, but I've recently found myself staring at the cake cabinet, thinking "I clean this cabinet every day. I'm so tired of cleaning this cake cabinet every single day. And the floor. Why can't this part of the floor be cleaned with the rest of it. It's always so mucky after we close the bain-marie. Why Why WHY???"

So nice to have another post here on Orangette! It's understandable that Delancey is demanding a bit more love these days, though...a lot like a baby. Anyway, after reading this post, I wish I wasn't so far away from Ballard. I visited Delancey a few weeks ago and loved the menu but am wishing I could be there now to experience the fall menu and that damn good sounding plum crumble! Oh, and Burrata!! I'd never heard of it before, but after reading the article you linked it, I was almost drooling. Since I'm over in NZ, I'll just have to send my friends to Delancey in my place for a while. Keep up the great work.

yumyumyum!!!!! i loooooove crumble and this sounds delish!!Wish I was near Seattle and not over the pond in little old England so I could visit Delancey!p.s mopping the floor at 1am? I've been there my friend, my deepest sympathies! :-) x

Congratulations on Delancey - break a fork! I'm anxious to eventually get back to a Seattle so hope to be able to get in! Love the plum crumble; my friend from your coast wrote about a plum tart that's an heirloom recipe on my blog - I like your plum crumble better but wonder why it's not called a cobbler? I'll get to try it - plums are still in the marts in S. Fla.

So nice to see you, and especially when you come bearing sweets. I used to make my crumbles and crisp toppings by cutting in cold butter - but I recently changed to melted butter and found I prefered the results.

So, I stumbled upon your blog several months ago and became very smitten. It's such a great read. Then I bought your book, which I loved just as much and forced my friend to read it, as I knew she would love it too. She just ordered TWO copies for herself from Amazon - and is going to give one to our other friend who has yet to read the book. Once the last friend reads it, we're going to get together and cook from it and while we do that we're going to plan a trip to Seattle to your restaurant. We live in Toronto and are so looking forward to coming - more likely next Spring or sometime when we can expect to have some nice, non-rainy weather. Thanks for all the excitement you've given to us and congrats on the restaurant!

Now, you're wonderful. When things are taxing and maddening but worth every minute of your life in the doing, the comparisons to having a child are, I understand, hard to resist. But I've got to say there's nothing, and I mean nothing that can compare to the first time you are called "mommy". That's the silver lining.

You described motherhood better than I've ever been able to. I feel like we should all throw you a belated shower. Again, wish so badly I lived closer! If/when you come to San Diego, please give Alice Q. Foodie, Jora and me a call and we can go to the Blind Lady Alehouse. Delancy reminds me of it just a teeny bit. Plus, we would love to meet you.

We made it to Delancey on Saturday - no wait! We got to sit at the bar and watch the incredible pizza-making. And - we had the burrata and the sausage pizza and the plum crumble for a most memorable meal. I love that Ballard, my childhood home, has such a splendid restaurant. If only I still lived in Ballard instead of 50 miles away. Congratulations on this endeavor.

Hi MollyI'm so glad you are back... I have read you for a long time and just recently started my own blog.

Congratulations on surviving, and thriving in your new endeavor. I owned my own bakery and catering business in LaConner for 13 years and understand EVERY WORD YOU SAID about beginning.... and thank you for the recipe for the Italian Plum Crumble. I am about to write about canned Italian Plums on my blog:http://sweetcomice.wordpress.com/

my mom used to can them, we would have them for breakfast when I was little. She passed away in May.

I was finally able to make it in to delancey this past thursday. We had the coppa, and the pepperoni, prosciutto, and foraged mushroom pizzas. And, oh my god... it was truly masterful. Now I can remove myself from the annoying pool of east coasters that complain about west coast pizza (not that i didn't happily scarf down all the other pizza I was eating anyway). Delancey is THE spot. We also had the plum crumble and it was killer. I can't wait to make it myself now with the italian plums we just got. Congrats to you and Brandon.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the Plum Crumble recipe! We have a plum tree that hangs over our walk and it's dripping with ripe plums, I mean, I have to dodge them when walking to the bus. This will be coming out of our oven soon and I hope to make it to Delancey even sooner!

Can't wait to make your plum crumble recipe. The little Italian prune plums have FINALLY started popping up in markets around here (Wisconsin). I've been waiting for them and am super-excited that they're finally here!

The plum crumble will be the perfect way to enjoy them. Thanks, Molly!

Hi Molly, I visited Delancey over labour day weekend and was lucky to get to try Brandon's heirloom tomato sauce...i loved it, unlike any sauce I've ever had! I wish I could visit again and try the eggplant sauce and the burrata...both sound delicious, too bad I live so far away. Are there any plans of posting pizza sauce recipes? I would love to make my own

I realized the same thing this weekend. I came to Delancey on saturday night with 7 month old Edie. Edie woke up as soon as the mushroom pizza arrived. I ate it in the car while I nursed her, it was delicious! I am slowly figuring things out too.

Molly. Delancey looks soooooo good. I have to admit that I'm dying a little bit on the inside too wenever I read a post about the pizza or look at a picture of one of those toasty miracles. We don't eat gluten over here, and although I can make some pretty decent homemade pizzas, they are nothing like the real, traditional, woodfired variety. I know you both have enough on your plattes right now, but just know, us gluten free people are waiting. Patiently.

I was unfortunate enough not to discover your blog until after the publication of your book. It was exciting, because you have a lovely voice and share some wonderful recipes, but I was a little jealous of earlier readers who got 'more' of you.

Starting a restaurant does indeed sound a bit like having a newborn (minus the crying, and with a little less of the nappies & reflux). Hopefully that means that as it grows up and teaches you how to care for it, you will have more time again.

Best wishes on your endeavor. My daughters, and husband have been suggesting I open a restaurant, but I'm afraid I would stop loving to bake if I charged for my sweets. For now, I blog and share. Your blog is incredible and something to aspire to.

Thank you for the update, Molly. You have made me smile out loud with your description of mopping in the wee hours! We hope to visit Delancey soon, knowing it will be worth the two hour drive. Best wishes for a good nights rest, and energy for the autumn days to come.

every time i read a post about delancey, i am tempted to pack my bags, move to seattle, and fall down on my knees asking you for a job doing anything there (if that seems slightly over the top, there are a few reasons, my dramatic expression and current unemployed status being among them).er, what i meant to say here is that, even though i miss your posts, it also makes me really happy that out there, in my favorite part of the world, there is a great little restaurant being run with a huge amount of heart and knowledge. and hopefully i will get to eat there someday. in the meantime, i'm totally going to buy some plums. yay!

Your restaurant is wonderful--truly wonderful. Hang in there, and know that the two of you are doing an incredible job. The pizza crust is the best in Seattle, and the zucchini and anchovy pizza you recently served was the closest I've had to the most incredible pizza in my life: the zucchini blossom and anchovy pizza I had on my honeymoon in Rome four years ago. Keep it up!

Hi! I just discovered your blog thru your book, which I just purchased and cannot wait to read! As for burrata, I had it for the first time a few weeks ago at a restaurant in Laguna Beach, drizzled with olive oil, basil, heirloom tomatoes...Heaven on a plate! I never knew it existed, now I find myself looking frantically for it!! I know the cheesemaker is in LA, so it must be the same man. I may have to drive up there soon! Congrats on the restaurant...

I enjoy your blog (and your book) so much! Your words really resonate with me. I work at a little, local restaurant and I share your feelings about end-of-the-night mopping. The crazy, frantic pace of your restaurant will eventually smooth down into a steady simmer. Mopping, however will never truly change. I wish you the best of luck with Delancey. Hopefully, you'll have more time to blog soon.

I'm surprised you have time to write a blog post at all...but glad you did. I have been using your recipes for homemade mayonnaise and Green Goddess or months now, and look forward to "upsizing" the crumble for a fall family gathering now that it's plum season in these parts. I also have to work on an invitation to visit my friends in Seattle....

Can you believe I only just recently tried Italian prune plums? They're not easy to find here, but from now on when they appear I'll be grabbing them. Loved them with port in a tart and in a sorbet. Your crumble looks divine.

I also wish we were close enough to eat at Delancey =(...but we live in China so that probably won't happen for a while. Everything looks delicious, and I love any baked good made with plums! Continued good luck!Camilla

Dear Molly and Brandon,We drove from Spokane a few weeks ago to eat at Delancy . . . well, technically, we had another adventure that also brought us to Seattle, but we were the couple who sat at the bar, grinning maniacally at the machinations in the kitchen . . . watching the unnamed bald pizza dough guy shape and pass off to Brandon, watching Brandon taking the pizzas in and out of the oven (which is bigger than we pictured it!), watching you mostly wash and dry dishes, and tend to other mysterious restaurant things. Delightful, delightful, delightful.Also, and maybe it's just that our tomatoes on the the "sunnyside" of our shared state are so pathetic and mealy, but Billy's tomatoes might just be the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. Oh. My. Good Goodness. It was all I could do not to completely forgo the lovely pizza and just pig out on plate after plate of those tomatoes.

these little plums are the best! I'm busy making loaves to freeze with all I can find right now. there never seems to be many in the shops...for whatever reason..and they ain't cheap for something that used to grow in our yards as kids...I'll have to give your Streusel a go too....

In a stroke of luck, a friend brought me a bag of Italian plums from her tree the day before i read this post.So - I made it 2 nights ago and it was perfectly delicious. My husband even liked it, and plums are one of his least favorite fruits. So thank you!

First comment in this blog. I hope to do it right since I'm not an english speaker. It's funny to hear about Padron peppers on a pizza. They are from Spain (where I'm from too) and we call them "pimientos de Padrón" for the town they grow in. We even have a saying for them that goes like this somethings are "como los pimientos de Padrón, unos pican y otros no" what means "like peppers from Padrón some are hot and some are not". By the way, we always have them deep fried (and now I miss them because I live in Mexico and here all the chiles are so hot).Another thing, years ago I tried an apple crumble with a mix of flour, hazelnut powder and canesugar. It was really good, you may want to try this.

First of all, your blog has always been a source of inspiration for me. I love it so much. Secondly, I own a small clothing store (going into year 5) and I can tell you that starting a small business is completely like giving birth and also like raising a child. Even on my days off, I think about the store and find myself coming it "cuz I was around the corner you see...". It's hard but it's amazingly rewarding b/c the regular customers become more like friends, family and community. And the people that work for you, well you'd do anything for them. All of these people you will laugh, cry, act stupidly with and learn so much about as well. It's thru owning my own small shop that I learned what I was made of and what made me happy. It was the connection with people that mean the most to me; I believe that you'll find that to be the case as well. Much like this blog allows you to connect, well those late nights at Delancy will be the same as well :)

Please keep up the great work and after you've mopped the floor at 2am, be sure to turn off the lights and enjoy the joy that goes with it all being yours (that's when I sometimes enjoy my shop the very most).

I live in The Dalles OR where there are prune-plum trees on vacant lots or in backyards where nobody wants the fruit. So I made the Crumble yesterday. It is so good--surprising how such a humble fruit can become a wonderful dessert. Looking forward to visiting Delancey soon...

Thank you so much for keeping Orangette alive despite the crazy but wonderful busyness of your life right now. Your posts make my day. You make me feel as though I know you - I'm cheering you on from the blogosphere sidelines!

I don't know if you've heard of the sweet blog 'Rachel Eats' but I just had to tell you about her today - because her post was all about burrata!

Hi Molly, Made the Hoosier Pie from the book...Wow! It was amazing. And I don't usually like pecan pie. I liked it because it wasn't too sweet. It's one of the best things I've eaten, serious. Thank you Aunt Mia and Sarah and for including it in the book.

Do you guys need any help at the restaurant with FOH (bussers/servers)? Thanks Molly and take care. Bryce

Baking some RIGHT now - a neighbors tree is over laden every year with italian plums, and i freeze them, dry them, eat them as fast as the 2 weeks they are in season as i canthis pan of goodies are destined for the coffee shop goers this a.m. in my little communitythanks for sharinghere's hoping there is one less evening of mopping in the cards for you soon

I made the crumble tonight and it was so, so good. I doubled the fruit, so it wasn't too bready and wow! So good! I also added 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger to the topping which caramelized a little in the oven. Oh my, oh my. With so much fruit, I can almost convince myself it's health food! <3

hi! I know I posted this before, but I really think you guys should consider "deformalizing" Delancey a tad. It should not take 1 hour and a half to get a two-top. Not all of us have hours to wait for PIZZA. Your system could be much more efficient, and more people could eat delicious pizza if you got rid of the servers/hostess and seating arrangement. have you considered doing a bar/counter and cashier system? Or putting seating around the perimiter of the entry way? It wouldnt have to feel like a factory; just more lively and dynamic. As I wrote before, many of the the greatest pizzerias in the world work on a cash register and self- seating system. just my two cents.

Hi, all! Thank you so much for these kind comments. I know I've said it before, but you are the best. I miss being here, and I hope to be able to post more regularly soon. Fingers crossed.

In the meantime:

Sonja and Dianne, I'm not sure what to tell you. Do you have a farmers' market or farm stand nearby? Or a grocery store with a particularly good produce section? Or, hmm. When I was growing up in Oklahoma, our grocery stores were pretty crappy, but my dad befriended the produce buyer at one of them, and sometimes the buyer would order special things for us or give my dad a heads-up when something good was coming. Maybe you could make a friend at the grocery store?

Jan Norris, I'm not sure exactly where the line between cobbler and crumble lies, but I think a cobbler usually is topped with a biscuit-like dough. On the other hand, a crumble topping is usually a drier mixture moistened with butter. I think.

Sue, the recipe as written above uses a 9-inch pie plate, but at the restaurant, I make triple batches and bake them in 9 x 13 pans.

Annie, pizza is definitely the focus of the menu, but our starters are generally all gluten-free. (Except the toasts that come with the burrata.) We hope to eventually add both gluten-free pizza and non-pizza entrees, but we're not able to do it quite yet.

Bryce, we don't need any FOH help right now, but if you'd like to drop off a resume, we might need you in the future. You never know...

Madalina, we appreciate your suggestion, but that's just not our vision. Delancey is a full-service restaurant. There are lots of pizza places around the country that work this way (Franny's, Mozza, Ken's Artisan Pizza, Pizzeria Bianco, etc.) - and also many in Seattle (Via Tribunali, Serious Pie, Tutta Bella, etc.). We sincerely apologize for the wait, and I wish we had space to accommodate more people, but for now, we do our best.

We have been; found great parking;conquered the Brooklyn;and even managed afew photos of the oven [with permission:)]. Now, please, please stay open the week before christmas - no holiday time allowed!...we will be bringing fans from arkansas!

PS...it is lovely to read your blog again, even if it is posted only monthy, it is a treat worth waiting for. Enjoy the fall; my Italian plums were gone before the receipe. Next year, for sure.

ahhhh! you're so funny! im still laughing with your late nite mopping confessions! i know exactly what you mean. my husband an i own a restaurant and it can be awful at times and awfully good too! after years of torturing myself i realized that it's worth it to spend a bit more on staff. there is always someone who needs a job and there is always something better you could be doing with your time!

I just wanted to tell you that I posted a review of your book on my blog today, and insisted people need to buy it because the poundcake recipe alone makes it worth the purchase. I posted the recipe since you had already done so on your blog, and I linked to that post (I hope that's okay).http://woofnanny.blogspot.com/2009/09/cake.html Really, that poundcake is amazing, and the book is too. Good luck with you restaurant--it's an exciting time.

I moved back to Seattle from Philly about a month ago, and my first night in town my girlfriend took me to Delancey. I have been reading your blog for over a year now and I was terribly upset to have been on the other side of the country for the opening! Both my girlfriend and I LOVED the experience. The food, of course, was the highlight, but the simplicity of the menu, the sit-down service, and the interior set-up of the place all fit so perfectly together to create a wonderful dinner date. If I wasn't living on a poor college student's budget, I would eat there every week. Also, about the eggplant sauce - I have been making a rustic eggplant sauce to cover pasta for a few years and once the brilliant idea struck me to use it on pizza I have never looked back! I hope it went well and look forward to tasting the future changes in your menu! Hang in there and stay true to you and Brandon, you have done incredibly already and I have such high hopes for your future.

I appreciate you re-posting this recipe and serendipitously enough I made it this past monday - although before i read this post. it is a recipe that i cut out of the new york times a few years ago. i make it all the time, as it really does transform italian plums into something incredibly delicious. funny that so many people posting on here think it is your recipe or an 'inside delancey' recipe when really it comes from someone else, as you do make note of!

Reading this post and previous ones regarding Delancey has been so enjoyable for me and has nade me excited to try it out sometime soon. I then realized that I am running out of time due to the fact that I will be leaving for Europe on Tuesday! Yikes. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I just finished your book today, which I adored; and that I will be coming into Delancey tomorrow and I am so excited. Please keep posting because I would love to keep reading on my trip.

I'm so sorry to say I left Seattle before you opened your restaurant. I was linked to your blog one day, and stumbled on the physical restaurant by accident one day a few weeks later. It looked familiar...even from your dreamy pre-opening photos. In a part of the world where even half-decent pizza is hard to come by, and a lack of home ovens denies my own pizza-making, I will sit here in front of my computer and drool over your pictures. So thank you for that small comfort. I'll see you in a year.-bri

We read; we came to a book reading; we ate the pizza; loved the pickled veggies; took pictures of the oven [with permission:)]; and we have spread the word...and we return for more delicious food. Now please, please tell us you will be open the week before Christmas! We want to bring guests from arkansas who are truly deprived and need some solid Northwest nourishment.

This is definitely the time of year for tarts and crisps in my mind. I've baked your apple tart cake more than once in the past couple of weeks, and next time I'm planning to try a pear tart with an almond flavored crust. Yum!Can't wait to try this new one...

I just had a baby and say the exact same thing when I'm mopping at 1 in the morning! I was just introduced to your blog and I'm anxious to get acquainted with you! I was attracted to your site by your reference to Demarle products because I am a Representative of the US division of Demarle At Home. I hope you've been introduced to us recently; we are the up and coming culinary wave to enter the kitchens of America! If you haven't met us yet, please visit our website at Heather.DemarleAtHome.com or my blog at heatherwang.blogspot.com.

I'm new to your blog but read your book a while back and loved it. I am married to a chef (I should say, still, since it's hard to stay married to a chef!) who opened his own place here in Los Angeles, called The Larchmont Larder. I would love to visit Delancey, should I ever get up to Seattle. Stay strong!

Congratulations on the new restaurant! It makes me wish I was anywhere near by!

I'm a long-time reader and a new blogger myself. I'm not sure what the blog etiquette is but I talked about your recipe on my blog. I credited you of course and linked to your blog. If you have any problem with this, please let me know and I'll be happy to remove it. The entry is here www.thestuckduck.blogspot.com

i laughed when i read your comparsion of having a child vs opening a restaurant. they sound so similar, pretty much sums up motherhood too! i'm so glad all is going well for you. Delancey sounds like a place we would love, i'm sorry we live so far away. take care.

So glad you're back and glad to hear that you're finding your restaurant groove.

Please forgive me for being a dolt, but I'm having a tough time figuring out the pan size for the recipe. Is it 9 x 13? or is that only if you triple the recipe? And if you don't triple it, what pan size do you use?

Molly, I made this dish and loved it, especially the ginger addition. One question, was I supposed to use a 9x13 pan or smaller? In retrospect I am assuming it was supposed to be in a smaller dish since my plum to crumb ratio was heavy on the crumb. :) Thanks!

Cookie Baker Lynn and Katherine, I'm so sorry for the confusion! A single batch of this crumble should be made in a 9-inch round pie plate. (See the last sentence of the 2nd paragraph of the instructions, the sentence that begins "Arrange the plums....") If you triple the recipe, though, you should make it in a 9 x 13.

When we opened our restaurant, it did feel like having another kid (we have two besides the business). Everything changes in one day. About a month into it I thought I had made the biggest mistake of my life. I could not believe how exhausted I was, and all I could think about was how this was going to be normal. The addition of good staff helps immensely. Good luck to you...

So delicious! When I saw prune plums at my market, I instantly pounced on them for this very crumble. I baked it in a smallish, 9x8 vintage pyrex dish(as my pie dish was in use for a quiche in the oven)and the crumb to filling ratio was a smidge off, but thats usually my preference. Thanks to both you and Luisa for bringing this to our attention. It's a keeper!

Molly,This recipe looks fabulous! I want to try it but am unable to find prune plums where I live. Can I make this with regular black plums? How many of those would I have to use?Thanks for all the wonderful recipes. Megan.

Molly, it does indeed sound just like having a baby. But you reached the "this is what I do now" acceptance stage a lot earlier with your restaurant baby than I did with my real one. It sounds like you guys are doing an incredible job. No shock there. I only wish that the pizza, the crumble and you were a whole lot closer.

i still havent been able to make it to that part of Seattle for a while now. Im soo waiting to come there! A bunch of us Seattle bloggers do a girls night out once in a while..maybe our next stop will be Delancey..i know all of us are gonna be thrilled. ( though im sure a couple of the others have already been here! :))

i cannot wait to visit your amazing restaurant as i am a true foodie... i am a small business owner and i completely understand your pain... but at least it is OUR pain and complete vision... i will come visit soon and in the meantime... congratulations... x pam

I'm so glad I found your blog a few months back... It is captivating & inspiring to me from a writing & culinary viewpoint. But also, as someone with no formal training (but 98 on her Food Mgrs Cert!) who too wishes dreams and schemes to one day open her own little specialized niche "third place" establishment, I find it gripping inspiration indeed! And as I've been too terrified thus far to take the plunge myself, I'm sure I'm reading with a bent toward what to DO & possible along the way cautionary tales...

As my Dad recently passed away, I feel I've lost a lot of inspiration in the kitchen of late... I loved your post on CILTE!!! I give it a go now and again.

I made the plum crumble for a pot luck brunch, perhaps not supposed to be breakfast food, but I told everyone it was like coffee cake without the cake. It was so amazingly delicious. I am so happy to have tried the recipe and to hear about your adventures with Delancy

ha! as my husband and i (we read your book to each other at night after we put the kids down to sleep) were reading this post, i said to him, "sounds like having a baby!", as we scrolled down to the next paragraph we cracked up! i'm really enjoying whatever entries you have time to eek out, and i can't wait to try that crumble. yum!

I am really really loving loving following your experience as a new restauranteur and this plum crumble looked so delicious, I was barely finished reading the post before I headed out the door for prune plumbs and crystallized ginger. Thank YOU :) !!

I have been meaning to read this for a long time (I loveee your writings in Bon Appetit)...but I finally found time to today and wish I would have done so earlier. Next step=getting your book out of the library!!

Molly, I patiently waited my turn after putting in a request at the library for your book. I finally picked it up on Saturday and devoured it in three days. Now I'm heading out to buy my own copy and several more to give as gifts. I really enjoy your writering voice and look forward to making many of the recipes. I'm looking forward to hitting Delancey in my old neighborhood of Ballard (long before it was even remotely hip). Best wishes to you in your endeavours and keep writing!

Molly-- thanks for the recipe! Will you be open Thanksgiving weekend? I am planning my belated summer vacation- a road trip up the coast from Southern California for over Thanksgiving and hoping to arrive in Seattle Sunday Nov 29th. I hope that you'll be open that night and I can celebrate my birthday there!

Molly, congratulations on the Foodbuzz nomination (here: http://tinyurl.com/y9mh8ad ) I am also one of the nominees in the same category (Best Visual Blog) and I would like to say I am honored to be place in the same category with such an amazing person.

Molly - peace to you in this restaurant business! I am so excited for it, and wished that I didn't live in the Eastern time zone. Missed your article in the November Bon Appetit! Good luck in everything!

And 176 comments later, here I am. Heh. Just wanted to pop in to say I've read your blog for a long time now and it's lovely. I finally got the chance to come into Delancey a last night and it was wonderful. An extremely picky 'foodie' myself, the food was amazing, the wine wonderful, and you've hired a very pleasant wait staff. Two thumbs way up!

I get a chance to read your blog every once in a while and it is great. Congrats on the STUPID STUPID STUPID mopping! You gotta try right? In a few weeks we are opening a small eatery in Walla Walla. Yikes!(glad to see the sweets on your menu) Cheers and best to you guys!!

It's not often I can post a comment on a blogspot blog because blogger is blocked in China, but I'm in Hong Kong right now and I wanted to tell you that I made your plum crumble and we LOVED it to pieces (yes, you can bake in a toaster oven). Just the right amount of crunch and spices. We put a photo up on our site with a link to your recipe.

Hi Molly! So, I've been lurking around here and getting the feel for Orangette. I have to say, it has to be one of the most beautiful, inspiring and shocking blogs I have ever come across. The fact that this blog has opened so many doors for you, is to me, eye opening and completely stunning. I really appreciate everything you do on here. It was actually just my seventeenth birthday and I begged my mom to go to Seattle. Can't wait now, because we're going to eat at Delancey! :)

Molly, I made your plum crumble yesterday (perfect for the autumn weather we're having here in Madrid) and absolutely loved it - especially the addition of crystalised ginger and cinnamon. It went down particularly well with a big scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Hi Molly,How exciting to see Delancey being so successful! Just to let you know I posted a plum and pear crumble recipe inspired by yours on my latest Tasty Diaries newsletter:http://www.tastydiaries.com/TD/Current_newsletter.html

Scroll down the newsletter, you will find it. I give you credit of course on the recipe page!! My main changes are less cinnamon (in Europe we are less used to the stuff) and I am softening the fruits a bit in a pan before using them in the crumble. It makes them juicier. Have look and let me know if you like it!Anne-Laure x

I just wanted to let you know that I am reading your WONDERFUL book right now. While I'm not a vegan, I am loving your sweet words and memories about your father (what a character!) and I am doing a lot of "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww's" when you write about your hubby.

Thank you so much for the recipe. I just got back from a pumpkin carving party at which we also ate soup and I brought your crumble for dessert. I was referred to as a goddess, and the crumble as both incredible and amazing. Thank you for appreciating plums, I think Italian plums are generally under appreciated.

Molly, I am now reading your book (I learned of Orangette AFTER getting the book). While I am not a vegan, I am just LOVING your stories about your family (particularly your father) and am having many "awwwwwwwwww" moments when you lovingly write about your hubby.

It has been pure enjoyment to read the book. Thanks so much for writing it!

Dear Molly,I am new to your blog, but have been enjoying your Bon Appetit articles and now your book over the past bunch of months. I love Italian prune plums and made the Plum Crumble 2 weeks ago...everyone took seconds. I made the fennel/asian pear salad from your book tonight...it was so refreshing and surprisingly addictive! Thank you for the great reads and the wonderful recipes. Good luck with Delancey!

Just started reading your book, laughing and crying and delighting in your sentence gems. And of course the recipes! So now I have found your blog, and just read about opening your restaurant, and I can completely feel for you. My husband and I moved our business to the Mall of America five years ago, and I remember driving home at 3 in the morning, sobbing and yelling WHY THE HELL ARE WE DOING THIS!!! But I can safely say, that five years later, it is so much easier, and wonderful, and we are happy. So hang in there, and thank you for your wonderful writings!

I totally understand your relationship with your ti-85. I thought i was the only person in the world who owned one 'cause I was always the black sheep in math class. The teachers (oh yes, plural) "didn't know how to use it" so I always had to learn through trial and error. Even in college. I've had mine for 15 years now, and it's never let me down- it needed a battery change ONCE. I love it.

I just opened my "O" magazine, and there was your quote! Bravo, and I am telling everyone about your fabulous blog (and book). I was just in Italy, and happened to meet someone from Seattle - and told her about Delancey. Wish I was on the west coast!

Loved the description of the plum crumble. I made a cranberry crumble Sunday for some friends, and I am having the last leftover piece for breakfast this morning.I'll be in Seattle next year for a conference, and Delancey is one of the many things I am looking forward to.

After reading about it here, and then hearing Nancy Silverton talk about it in a cooking class a couple of weeks later, I went on a full tilt burrata hunt here in San Diego. Today, success!! A local shop called Venissimo carries it, and as fate would have it, I stumbled upon them on a Tuesday. Tuesday just happens to be "buy one get one free" burrata day. It was most definitely meant to be! I've been patiently waiting out the rest of the work day to run home and dive in, hopefully before my poor lactose intolerant comes home and gets that hang dog "I'm so sad I can't eat cheese" look in her eye.